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Different risks, high rewards from fishing in Colorado's lakes

A solitary angler fishes the Gold Medal water of North Delaney Butte Lake from a float tube as the sun sets over the Mount Zirkel Wilderness near Walden. (Scott Willoughby, The Denver Post)

The numbers don't lie.

Go ahead, take a look, and you'll see that the state record by weight for every species of fish in Colorado — except whitefish and an anomalous 17-plus-pound Snake River cutthroat — was caught in still water. That's 45 out of 47 standing records, including a 3-pound, 1-ounce American eel, caught in a lake. Of the other two, one each came from the Blue River (cutthroat) and the Roaring Fork (whitefish).

But let's face it: Even if you think you can land a whitey weighing more than 5 pounds, 2 ounces (as Richard Sals did in 1982), the odds of it happening on the Roaring Fork anytime in the next month are growing slimmer by the cubic foot per second.

With runoff upon us and Colorado's rivers on the rise, area anglers are turning their attention to the lakes and reservoirs to get their fishing fix. Not that they ever turn too far away.

Results from the 2012 angler survey conducted by Colorado Parks and Wildlife show mountain lakes and reservoirs are hands down the most popular type of water fished in Colorado, picked most often by 46 percent of survey respondents. That compares with 23 percent of surveyed anglers who most often fish small rivers and streams in the mountains, 18 percent who favor lakes and rivers at low elevations and a little over 10 percent who gravitate to large rivers most often.

A big reason, one might assume, is all those big fish.

Lake fishing presents its own set of challenges, however. Whereas river fish tend to be creatures of habit, the inconvenient truth about lake dwellers is that they can be just about anywhere. In the absence of an electronic fish finder, it helps to have a starting point.

"I grew up fishing in still water. Lake fishing fascinates me," said John Gierach, the Lyons-based author of "Flyfishing the High Country" and a host of other, considerably more abstract fish stories. "I can't remember who it was that said: 'In a river, the water moves and the fish stand still. And in a lake, the water stands still and fish move.' That's the only difference."

There are, of course, indicators. Subtle though they may be, there are changes to key upon in lakes as well as rivers — the drops, ledges, wind, mud lines, current and colors. But beneath a surface that appears so uniform, they can be slow to reveal themselves.

"The first key to fishing for still-water lunkers is to watch, wait and watch some more," Field & Stream magazine contributor Kirk Deeter suggested during his lake fishing seminar at January's International Sportsmen's Expo in Denver. "Sometimes in a lake, we have to wait a little longer to see the risers."

An increasingly common tactic in the still-water fishing world is the incorporation of stepladders placed on the bottom of a lake or reservoir to offer up a bird's-eye view of the fish you are pursuing. The added leverage can enhance a fly-fisherman's presentation as well, which some consider more difficult on still water than on that with an obvious current.

Another key to keep an eye out for is what trophy trout guide Landon Mayer calls "big fish chop," a phenomenon that occurs when high-country winds blow warmer surface water — along with fish food — into bays. Mayer's preferred tactic is to fish from the leeward shore as the chop brings cruisers into the shallower bays, although the stiff headwind often lends itself better to spinning tackle than to fly-casting.

For those committed to the fly, Deeter recommends sorting out a seasonal knowledge of the insect hatches, including midges, baetis, damselflies, callibaetis, drakes and caddisflies. Pay particular attention to midges and midge clusters, he suggests, because they can make up more than 50 percent of a trout's diet.

"If I had only one dry fly I could use, I'd pick a size-16 parachute Adams," he said. "If I'm getting refusals, first I'll drop down a size. And if it's still being refused, then I'll go no hackle."

In a lake just like a river, though, fish eat most of their food underwater, lending credibility to nymphs like a pheasant tail or hare's ear (preferably soft-hackle) along with smaller red or zebra midges slowly retrieved with 2-inch twitches of the line.

When all else fails, consider tying on one or two gaudy streamers and working the discernible cover until the rivers come back in play.

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